23 February,2011 06:52 AM IST | | Poornima Swaminathan
Asst commissioner of police, formerly with Anti-Narcotics Cell, arrested with 2 kg brown sugar; allegedly has a history of smuggling, trafficking and land grabbing
In an instance of cop-turned-criminal, an assistant commissioner of police posted at the Director General's office was arrested in Worli for allegedly carrying 2 kg of brown sugar in his official police vehicle yesterday.
The Mumbai Crime Branch sleuths laid a trap to nab the 'bootlegger-turned-drug trafficker' cop, Ashok Dhawale (53), along with a local drug peddler Munna (45), following a tip-off.
The drug is worth approximately Rs 2 crore in the international market, police sources informed. "He had bought the drugs from Jammu and Kashmir and was going to deliver it to a local drug peddler," said Additional Commissioner of Police Devendra Bharti.
In fact, Munna was Dhawale's key informer when the officer himself was attached to the Anti-Narcotics Cell around 1997. The 1981 batch sub-inspector was involved in several drug seizures during his ANC stint.
Cops suspect that Dhawale has been part of an active drug-peddling racket for years now, and has been using his official position to buy drugs at a lesser price.
"He has also been threatening drug peddlers in the city that he will get them arrested," a senior police official revealed on condition of anonymity.
Chronic habit
This isn't the first time that Dhawale has been found on the wrong side of the law. If police sources are to be believed, he has been running roughshod over the law for the past decade in various cases.
In 2007, when he was posted at Vikhroli police station, the State Excise Department had arrested Dhawale near Manor for illegally smuggling Indian-made foreign liquor from Daman into the city in his police vehicle.
The alcohol was worth a few lakh rupees.
He was dismissed from service under Section 311 of the Bombay Police Acts. But subsequently reinstated a few months ago.
Since then, he has held the post of deputy superintendent of police in the Protection of Civil Rights department in the DG office.
On two occasions prior to this, department enquiries had been initiated against him for smuggling drugs. "He has been misusing his power and authority and has also been threatening people," said the anonymous official.
Dhawale is also said to have grabbed land worth several crores in Ghatkopar-Vikhroli-Parksite area in the last few years.
Ek Cutting!
Brown Sugar
There are several names that are used to refer to brown sugar on the streets. Smack, Horse, Mud, Junk, Black tar, and Big H are a few names that peddlers use to sell their stash.
